Atlanta Braves: Mike Soroka – Bret Hart of the Braves Pitching Staff
By Seth Carter
The Atlanta Braves appeared to have found their ace last season. Many prognosticators are predicting a regression while some say he’ll be even better. What should the Braves expect from the Calgarian Corner Painter?
When it’s all said and done, Atlanta Braves’ young star, Mike Soroka, may end up going down as the second-greatest professional athlete to come out of Calgary, Alberta, Canada… the first obviously being WWE wrestling hall of famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart.
Mike Soroka starred at Bishop Carroll High School in Calgary, Alberta Canada. The Braves drafted him in the first round of the 2015 draft out of high school. He had committed to play baseball for the University of California, Berkeley but instead chose to report to the Braves.
Less than three years later he would make his major-league debut. Soroka recently spoke about his quick ascent to the majors when speaking with Canadian media.
"“I think to a lot of people, it looked like a quick ascent to the major leagues, but it doesn’t necessarily feel that way to me because I put in the work and effort every day from start to finish … So I wasn’t surprised at how (2019 turned out). But it was definitely nice to get that boost early in my career, that’s for sure.”"
Soroka began Rookie Ball at just 17-years-old. In 34.0 innings he posted a 3.18 ERA. The following year he reported to A-Rome where he went 9-9 with a 3.02 ERA in 143 innings. Next year at age 19, Soroka made his way to AA-Mississippi where he continued to shine with a record of 11-8 and a 2.75 ERA in 153.2 innings pitched.
In 2018 he had already reached AAA-Gwinnett, where he showed no signs of slowing down with a 2.00 ERA in 27.0 innings. The Braves had seen enough. Soroka made his major-league debut on May 1st, 2018 at the age of twenty. He picked up the win against the Mets in six innings of one-run ball.
Soroka would only get five starts under his belt before being shut down due to shoulder inflammation. He wouldn’t pitch again the rest of the season.